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T1 Increasing Private Capital Investment into Energy access: The Case for Mini-grid Pooling Facilities
A1 United Nations Environment Programme, 
A1 University of California Berkeley, 
A1 CrossBoundary, 
A1 Stanford University, 
A2 Gershenson, Dimitry
A2 Tilleard, Matthew
A2 Cusack, Jake
A2 Cooper, Dean
A2 Monk, Ashby
A2 Kammen, Daniel
K1 energy
K1 renewable energy
K1 carbon economy
K1 finance
K1 environmental financing
YR 2015
FD 2015-02
LK https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/9401
UL https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/9401
NO Mini-grids are viewed as one of the key elements in securing universal energy access in the developing world. However, current levels of investment into renewable decentralized energy are insufficient to reach the development goals identified by initiatives such as the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All. In order to reach such levels of deployment, new models of financing need to be designed. In this report, we provide a conceptual framework for the development of a private sector facility to pool and cross-collateralize diverse capital to support international mini-grid portfolios. We begin by discussing the current status of electrification initiatives in developing countries, and the approaches adopted to access finance for their implementation. We then argue that two key barriers exist to the effective financing of mini-grids. First, mini-grids in emerging markets have a complex risk profile that is difficult to mitigate at the individual project level. Furthermore, individual mini-grid projects are so small that their fixed transaction costs reduce their financial viability.
DS UN Environment Document Repository
RD Sep 17, 2026